RICKY BURNS TO PERFORM PUBLIC WORK OUT ON THURSDAY

Fans can watch the lightweight World champ prepare for May 11 defence

Ricky Burns will perform a public work out at the St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow at midday on Thursday May 2 ahead of his WBO lightweight title defence against Jose Gonzalez at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on May 11 live on Sky Sports in Betfair’s ‘Fighting Pride of Scotland’.

Burns clashes with the Puerto Rican challenger in his third defence of the belt, returning to the ring for the first time since his superb fourth round stoppage win over Kevin Mitchell in September at the SECC in Glasgow.

The Coatbridge star will perform a work out with trainer Billy Nelson before meeting fans for pictures and autographs. The work out is located outside Boots on the ground floor.

St Andrews Sporting Club

Est 1973

April 22nd 2013

For those of you who have never experienced a night at the club I would encapsulate the night by saying the patrons are treated to a feast of fine food, two guest speakers, a guest of honour and a night of boxing after which you may meet and greet the guests at the top table. The Guest of Honour was Amateur Boxing Scotland Chairman Richard Thomas who is a very charismatic man and it was lovely to speak to him.

Just before the boxing is due to start there is preamble fervour of excitement in anticipation amongst the crowd of gentlemen in attendance that is totally unique to the St Andrews Sporting Club.

The first boxers made their way to the ring ‘Gangnam Style’ a song made famous by South Korean musician PSY. It was a 6 x 2 minute round Welterweight contest between debutant Daniel Brady, Motherwell and Jason Nesbitt, Birmingham. Brady made a bright start to the bout working straight punches to the head and body of his opponent, but all of a sudden a solid right staggered him towards the ropes, he recovered well and came back with a good shot of his own. Nesbitt landed a Hefty right to the body and looked more content with taking his man out with one shot. Not long after the bell sounded for round 2 Brady had his man on the canvas with a combination that ended with a thunderous right hand and Nesbitt received the count of eight, he then unleashed a furious variety of punches to which Nesbitt replied with wild swinging hooks where one did rock back the head of Brady. However, Brady was the man in charge by sticking to boxing and trapping his man in the corner and against the ropes. As the bell sounded for the end of the 3rd Nesbitt walked back to his corner grimacing and shaking his head, his right glove was removed and he was gesturing towards his thumb. The referee was left with no alternative but to stop the fight at the end of round 3 and award the contest to Daniel Brady.

Next two boxers to enter the ring were Daniel’s brother and fellow debutant Gerard Brady, Motherwell and Andrew ‘Paddy’ Patterson, Birmingham, in a 6 x 2 minute round Welterweight contest. Southpaw Brady came out working behind a neat right hand jab throwing the more accurate punches, Patterson got through with straight one-two’s and the boxers were mixing it up in the middle of the ring with Brady landing a clean right uppercut that jolted Patterson’s head before the bell rang to end the 1st. Brady worked harder than Patterson in the early stages of the fight but by the 3rd Patterson began to stalk his man bursting Brady’s nose and by the end of the round Brady’s face was reminiscent to that of Henry Cooper when he fought Muhammad Ali due to the amount of blood. Brady boldly fought on landing some good shots but Patterson took the initiative, moving forward like an armoured tank landing some good punches of his own and a hard left hook to finish. Patterson hardly touched his stool and was back on his feet well before the bell rang for the 5th, Brady came out throwing a combination of punches and stuck to boxing his man, Patterson looked very strong landing big shots to the head and body. Patterson piled it on in the last round but there was no way Gerard Brady was going anywhere, he was still landing accurately and there was a good exchange of punches from both boxers before the bell. The referee awarded the contest 59-55 in favour of Andrew Patterson. It was a hard debut fight for Brady who showed great courage to fight on while his vision was impaired. 

The final bout of the night was another Welterweight contest between Craig Kelly, Paisley and Kevin McCauley, Brighton who entered the ring to the Marvin Gaye classic ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’ in an 8 x 2 minute contest. Referee Kenny Pringle beckoned the boxers to the middle of the ring to touch gloves, told them to protect themselves at all times, listen to his instructions and come out fighting. McCauley looked solid in the 1st round landing to the body and head while Kelly doubled up the jab and edged his way into the fight. There was a good exchange of punches at the start of the 2nd but Kelly was by far the busier man notably catching McCauley with a strong right to the head. Kelly persevered with picking his punches by moving in and out of range while covering up; McCauley landed a strong combination of blows and was using good body movement. McCauley made good headway at the start of the 4th but Kelly came back into it and finished the round well. Kelly was following his man like a shadow but McCauley worked well off the back foot catching Kelly on more than a few occasions. Round 6 was a quiet one for McCauley, Kelly was by far the more active working harder throwing straight punches. It’s only fair to say that from the 7th round onwards both men were getting through equally, it was a tough fight and a hard one to score but Referee Kenny Pringle scored the contest 77-75 in favour of Craig Kelly.

It was another great night at the Home of Scottish Boxing; I had a wee chat with Peter Harrison about Scott’s fight at the weekend and he went on to tell me that they already have a date in mind for another fight.

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan

Buchanan Boxing will be attending this event on Friday and Saturday. 
I would just like to take this opportunity to say best wishes to all the boys taking part.

I made the journey west to the Grand Hall Palace Theatre in the heart of the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire for an evening of professional boxing on Saturday 13th April 2013 courtesy of Alex Morrison. In the past week I’d done more travelling than The Bay City Rollers and after a polite exchange of words with the door staff I was ushered to the main hall where the boxing was to take place upon which I met the lovely Christine Morrison who showed me to my ringside seat, if I were a couple of foot closer I would almost be sitting in the ring.

The people of Kilmarnock were so courteous and friendly, l felt right at home and they procured a sense of belonging that I will never forget.

I had a wee chat with Promoter Alex Morrison, he’s such a nice man, he looks in great shape for a man of his age and it was a pleasure talking to him. I took my seat next to top journalist Jim Black; he gave me a lot of encouragement and a few tips, he’s been in the game longer than Bernard Hopkins. The lights in the hall dimmed to darkness as the lights surrounding the ring lit up like the floodlights of a football stadium. A song by The Who ‘Baba O Riley’ belted out from the sound system and an older man with a chequered bonnet stood up in the balcony and started dancing, punching the air and giving it yahoo as the first boxers made their way to the ring.

It was a 4 x 3 minute contest at Light-Welterweight between Hugh Gray, Glasgow and southpaw Vaclav Skromach, Newark. Gray came out his corner to an arousing applause and was anxious to make his mark in the early stages of the fight by staggering his opponent early doors and following up with a blistering volley of punches, this kid tried to end it in the 1st round. Gray relentlessly came forward throwing a barrage of punches without a reply. In the 3rd round Gray began to pick his punches with less haste and the referee had to ask his opponent if he wanted to continue, he pummelled his man and threw him about like a rag doll, landing a neat left hook on the bell. The boxers touched gloves at the beginning of the last round, a hard right hand left a really tired and bewildered looking Skromach yearning for the final bell. Gray put on an impressive, comprehensive display and this reflected in the referees scoring of 40-35 in favour of Hugh Gray.

 South Ayrshire man Sammy ‘The Bull’ Hill came in to a reception worthy of a king to face a worthy opponent in the shape of Richard Bitner, Halifax in a Welterweight contest over 4x3 minute rounds. Hill came out jabbing and landed a big right hand to the head of Bitner, Bitner fought back but heavy handed Hill landed a few more of the same to put his opponent in his place. The referee had a word with both boxers; Hill looked very strong. The crowd were chanting his name in harmony and stamping their feet. The fight began to look a bit more even then Hill unleashed another solid right to Bitners head and he looked in trouble, however, remarkably Bitner unleashed a venomous combination of punches that never budged 'The Bull' who worked his way back in and jolted the head of Bitner with a left hook. The 3rd round was a hard round to score as each man made a move to up their game, Hill finishing the round with his trademark straight right and the crowd were singing like a choir to the tune of Sammy Hill. The start of the last round saw the two boxers giving their all but Hill finished the round the stronger man, it was a good fight and both boxers sportingly embraced. The referee scored the contest 39-37 in favour of Sammy ‘The Bull’ Hill.

The next up were two debutants Darin Reid, Alloa and Alistair Gonsales, Dunfermline in a Light-Middleweight contest over 4x3 minute rounds. The boys came out to a dance song by Flo Rida ‘Good Feeling’ and the crowd were bouncing. It was an impetuous start to the fight by Gonsales, Darin Reid was throwing the more accurate punches where Gonsales was mainly throwing wild punches to the body and Reid clearly knocked his opponents head back midway through the round. Gonzales retaliated but Reid finished the round landing solid three punch combinations. A hefty right hand from Reid knocked Gonsales through the ropes at the start of the 2nd although he did come back for more but Reid rocked his man’s head again with a big right, a four punch combination followed by a connecting right uppercut and finishing with a two punch straight left and right to the head that jolted Gonsales backwards where he sat stunned, tangled, and powerless between the ropes for what seemed like 20 seconds before they managed to get him to his stool, the referee did not even start a count,  after 2 min 36 sec of the 2nd round the fight was stopped and Darin Reid made a winning debut.

Unbeaten Irvine Boxer Ryan Collins made his way to the ring with The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ song vibrating round the hall pulsating the building, his fans raised to their feet with the rhythm, stamping and cheering. His opponent was Englishman Danny Wallace from Leeds, in a 4x3 minute round Super-featherweight contest. Wallace was a much more experienced boxer but Collins was all over him like a rash catching his man against the ropes unloading a lot of leather, switching his attack from head to body and catching his man in the corner at the end of the 1st throwing a variety of punches as Wallace covered up. Collins was working behind the jab trying to find his range and the crowd were singing ‘The flower of Scotland’. But the 2nd round was more even with Wallace gaining success to the head and Collins to the body. By the 3rd Wallace’s face was beginning to mark up, he was mixing it with Collins to begin with but Collins went on to unleash some heavy punches to the head and body and by the end of the round Wallace had a huge, black and blue swelling under his left eye. Ryan Collins out worked his opponent and by the look of Wallace he was clearly getting through, finishing off with rapid three punch combinations before the bell rang. The Referee scored the contest 39-37 in favour of Ryan Collins.

Edinburgh Southpaw Craig McEwan and Alister Warren, Huddersfield, entered the ring to a song by Whitesnake called ‘Here I Go Again’ in a 6x3 minute round Middleweight contest. Craig McEwan worked behind a nice straight jab while Warren went to the body. McEwan looked in command using tidy footwork and good body movement, twisting and turning his hips to open up combinations to the head and body, he switched to orthodox and connected with a cracking left hook, after another three punch combination the referee stepped in on account of two deep cuts above Warren’s eye. There was a bit of confusion before the referee called the boxers together and due to a clash of head the contest was scored as a Technical Draw.

Top of the bill was unbeaten southpaw Jon Slowey Glasgow, and Michael Stupart, Dunfermline, it took a while before this contest started due to the previous fight ending in the first round. Jon Slowey is a slick boxer with good movement drawing blood from the mouth of Stupart as early as the 1st round. Within seconds of the bell sounding for the 2nd Slowey had Stupart down for the count of 8, Stupart got up and let go a combination of punches whilst Slowey was against the ropes but he was quick to let Slowey back in to take charge. By the 3rd both boxers were working inside throwing hooks, Slowey stepped back and threw a lovely left uppercut followed by a good left hook. The fight was going to plan for Slowey and he was working harder than his opponent and throwing more quality punches but Stupart got going at the end of the 5th and left a cut above the right eye of John Slowey. It’s only fair to say Jon Slowey out-boxed his opponent throughout most of the fight and looked the classier fighter, however, Michael Stupart showed great courage getting back up in the 2nd and getting himself back into the fight to an extent, his best round by far was the last but it was a case of too little too late. The referee scored the contest 79-73 in favour of Jon Slowey who takes his record to 13-0.

Alex Morrison put on a great show of professional boxing that had a bit of everything, excitement, suspense, drama and the capacity crowd were fantastic.

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan

On Saturday I travelled north to the Granite City of Aberdeen to watch a boxing show that featured the comeback of The Aberdeen Assassin Lee McAllister. After a long journey I made my way to the venue where I was met by two very polite gentlemen dressed in suits at the front doors and I asked them when the boxing was due to start, they asked me if I was press and at that very moment the thought run through my head, ‘I'm standing with a leather, reporters notepad in one hand, a camera strapped over  the other shoulder, a tracksuit with my boxing website emblazoned front and back and talking in an Edinburgh accent, thinking to myself, do they think it’s just by chance or a coincidence that I’ve turned up here ’. My partner in crime was one step ahead and had photocopied an e-mail stating the obvious and I showed it to them, they kindly let me in to take shelter from the snow until the press were allocated their seats. I was three quarters of an hour early, one of the few occasions I’ve been early in my life. I could hear a vibrant, echoing, rejoice full of laughter, bellowing from the hall below. I made my way to the press seats inside the barriers where you could easily lay your hand on the canvas of the boxing ring, and chose a seat right next to one of the boxer’s corners where I thought it would be easier to get my camera out after the final bell of the night, this proved not to be such a great idea in the end. 

 It was party time and the people of Aberdeen were so friendly I felt gratified how welcome they made you feel, it was an honour and a privilege to be amongst such worthy hosts. The hall was shaped like a thrupenny bit with a balcony all around and the noise level started to crank up, the atmosphere was tremendous and a joy to behold, the Beach Ballroom was certainly the place to be if you were in Aberdeen on Saturday night.  The announcer belted out “Welcome to the cauldron”.

The first boxers to make their way to the ring were local Polish man Marek Laskowski and Tamworth’s Matt Seawright in a Light-Welterweight contest set at 10st 4lbs over 6 x 2 min rounds. Seawright looked pumped up, bouncing around and raring to go whereas Laskowski looked more cool, calm and relaxed. At the start of the fight both boxers looked a bit tentative, Seawright throwing haymakers without any joy and southpaw Laskowski worked his way in behind the straight right jab. Laskowski started to put punches together noticeably landing some big left hands, Seawright’s work was looking untidy by the 3rd while Laskowski was really warming to the task and finding his range, getting through with some solid punches, apart from a brief exchange in the last round he was in cruise control and it was an easy decision for the referee to make. The contest was scored 60-54 in favour of Marek Laskowski.

Next up was a 6 x 2 min round Welterweight contest set at 10st 9lbs over between Brighton boxer Kevin McCauley and The Assassin’s little brother Mathew ‘The Hawk’ McAllister who came in to a rapturous applause with the hall erupting and singing along to ‘The bonnie banks of Loch Lomond’. While stretching off McAllister was as much as sitting on the canvas before the bell rang then launched himself at McCauley who let go a combination of punches, McAllister threw a straight right then mostly delivered left hooks to the body and head, smiling throughout. After an even exchange of punches McCauley was grinning tenaciously at his man, McAllister returned the gesture in kind with nice left hand work and the crowd began to chant songs in tune to the tempo of the fight. McCauley wrestled his man to the ground but it did not affect the work rate of McAllister, he merely tapped his man on the break smiling while like a Cheshire cat, he frustrated McCauley with almost everything he done but his opponent was not for budging. McCauley had put up a fight but in the latter stages ‘The Hawk’ was bossing the fight landing accurate shots to the head, the crowd were singing in harmony like a choir and due to the seat I chose to sit in I got sprayed in the face with water and accidentally got spat on. The referee scored the contest 59-55 in favour of Mathew McAllister who remains unbeaten.

The following fight was a super-Featherweight contest at 9st 6lbs where Aberdeen’s Darren Traynor was up against Sid Razak over 6 x 2 minute rounds. Traynor had been out of action for a year due to a hand injury but came out throwing multiple combinations that led on to finishing with double left hook's to the head, the sheer volume of punches were outstanding using fast hands and tidy footwork. As the rounds progressed Traynor was relentless with his work rate, Sid Razak had little resolve and threw nothing of notability, however, he did start to stalk his man round the ring in the 5th but the mobility and class of Traynor gave him very little opportunity to land any telling shots. Traynor’s pace slowed down a touch as the fight came to a climax in the last round and Razak had his best round of the fight but it was too little too late, Traynor easily out boxed his man and made it look like a stroll in the park, he worked hard throughout the fight and kept his unbeaten status as the referee scored the contest 60-54 in favour of Darren Traynor.

Top of the bill was an International Welterweight contest at 10st 7lbs over 6 x 3 minute rounds featuring Lee ‘The Aberdeen Assassin’ McAllister and Slovakian opponent Ivan ‘The Little Dragon’ Godor. McAllister made his way to the ring with a medley of songs including The A Team theme song, Let’s get ready to rumble and The Proclaimer’s 500 Miles, the crowd were in great spirit, everyone was standing, dancing, cheering and singing along. The atmosphere was electric and the people in attendance were having a ball. Lee McAllister had been out of action for 14 months and this was his homecoming. After the formal announcements the opening bell rang, it was a tentative start to the contest where both boxers were reluctant to fully commit themselves. McAllister was content with finding his range with the jab, he connected with a good left hook, back on the jab and continued to work to the head. Godor tried to touch gloves at the start of the 2nd but McAllister rightly refused and just laughed with contempt. Godor did little to improve his slow start and McAllister landed a banging left hook that rocked his man back a few shaky steps but never went in for the kill. He was following Godor like a shadow as if he was looking to take his man out with a single shot. By the 3rd round McAllister was totally in command of a barely existent Godor, after another solid shot to the body, once again he let his man off the hook. At the end of the round Godor tried to tie up McAllister but was thrown to the canvas by a shrug of the shoulder. McAllister was winning the fight comfortably, smiling throughout at Godor who was nodding back and pawing out a jab. The fight was pretty much one way traffic, McAllister looked very strong in the last round, Godor came forward before the final bell where the boxers did engage in an exchange of punches after which McAllister jolted his man again then the bell rang. Referee Kenny Pringle gave every round to Lee McAllister and scored the contest 60-54.

It was a great night in Aberdeen, the people in attendance were both courteous and well mannered and it was a pleasure to experience a night in the cauldron of the Beach Ballroom.

After such a long time out the boxing ring it was nice to see Lee get six rounds under his belt, so I surmise the message McAllister put out was that ‘The Assassin is Back’.  

By Raymond Fraser Buchanan     

Photography by George Mackie  

Ryan Collin's is definitely a man to watch out for, he is a rising star and intends to play a big part in the future of Scottish Professional Boxing.

If you want to see this young man in action the phone number is on the poster, call Ryan for tickets.

I did an interview recently with Ryan's trainer 'Unsung Hero Alec Mullen'.

Irvine boxer Ryan Collins dedicates his life to the sport and with Big Alec in his corner the sky's the limit.